Windsor-Essex Catholic School District School Board trustees unanimously elected Barb Holland to serve as chairwoman for another year Thursday.

The trustee, who represents Ward 6 and Ward 7 in the city, said she hopes the worst is behind the Catholic board which in September was taken over by a supervisor appointed by the Education Ministry.

Norbert Hartmann’s appointment came after the ministry grew concerned the board had run deficits five of the past six years; spent millions more on constructing high schools and administrative offices; showed an inability to set accurate budgets and may have followed a “labour strategy” that relied on an expected teacher strike to balance its budget.

“It was difficult last year because of issues that came up provincially that we have never seen before,” Holland said. “We felt some of those endangered the education of our children so we stood up for the kids.

“We thought we would take a lot of heat for it and we did. We are now under supervision because of those actions, but we would do it again.”

Hartmann is forming a three-to-five-year plan for how the school board will get the money to pay its accumulated deficits which are just over $2 million.

“We have a surplus on (this year’s) budget of $190,000,” Holland said. “That happened through hard work and determination of this board to live within its means.”

Much of the board’s financial woes can be linked to declining enrolment which reached 24,000 a few years ago, but is projected to shrink in coming years to about 16,000.

Despite the drop in enrolment, Holland does not anticipate debating more school closures in the upcoming year.

“Our biggest challenge will continue to be declining enrolment and (employee) contracts,” she said. “We will continue to work through it.”

Trustee Mary DiMenna, who represents Essex, Kingsville and Leamington, was elected vice-chairwoman of the Catholic board for the second consecutive year.

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